Problem: The lifespans of snakes in a particular zoo are normally distributed. The average snake lives $21.8$ years; the standard deviation is $4.8$ years. Use the empirical rule (68-95-99.7%) to estimate the probability of a snake living between $26.6$ and $36.2$ years.
Solution: $21.8$ $17$ $26.6$ $12.2$ $31.4$ $7.4$ $36.2$ $99.7\%$ $68\%$ $15.85\%$ $15.85\%$ We know the lifespans are normally distributed with an average lifespan of $21.8$ years. We know the standard deviation is $4.8$ years, so one standard deviation below the mean is $17$ years and one standard deviation above the mean is $26.6$ years. Two standard deviations below the mean is $12.2$ years and two standard deviations above the mean is $31.4$ years. Three standard deviations below the mean is $7.4$ years and three standard deviations above the mean is $36.2$ years. We are interested in the probability of a snake living between $26.6$ and $36.2$ years. The empirical rule (or the 68-95-99.7 rule) tells us that $99.7\%$ of the snakes will have lifespans within 3 standard deviations of the average lifespan. It also tells us that $68\%$ of the snakes will have lifespans within 1 standard deviation of the mean. The probability of a particular snake living between $26.6$ and $36.2$ years is $\color{orange}{15.85\%}$.